[Abyss77]

Hello,

I use the Audioquest Dragonfly Red as DAC/Amp for my Grado RS1i (38 ohm), my Grado Hemp (also 38 ohm) and my Audioquest Nighthawk (25 ohm) and am actually satisfied so far. It is loud enough in any situation, so in this regard the purchase of a separate amplifier would not be necessary.

However, as we all know, the better is the enemy of the good, which is why I am thinking of buying a separate amp and using the Audioquest Dragonfly Red only as a DAC.

Could I expect a better sound? More dynamics, resolution etc.? Or does that make no sense with the headphones I have because of the low impedances?

I was thinking of the Topping L30 as an amp, since it's supposed to be as good as the A90 sonically, and since I don't need balanced anyway, it doesn't hurt me that the L30 doesn't have that option.

Thanks for your help!

 

[DeweyCH]

I've used my Dragonfly Red as a standalone DAC to power a desktop amp. The sound is improved vs. the Dragonfly alone. In addition to being low impedance, your Grados are both fairly efficient, so you don't necessarily need a desktop amp, but you'll likely find you've got more headroom with a more powerful amp if nothing else. And note that the effectiveness of an amp isn't restricted to how powerful it is; even with efficient headphones, a better amp is a better amp, in my (limited) experience. I figure you'd get better dynamics and a richer sound from a desktop amp vs. the Red - I A/B tested the DF Red on its own vs. the Red pushing a line-level output to my Monoprice 789, and the difference in sound quality was noticeable.

Note, though, that most of my headphones are fairly high-impedance, so they do love power.

My recommendation is kind of two competing thoughts: one, if you're satisfied with the sound, why change (and as a sufferer of upgradeitis I can probably answer that question myself); and two, why not just get a desktop amp - maybe secondhand - and test the difference and then resell it if you don't find it to be a worthy upgrade? Half the fun of this hobby is how well decent equipment holds its value... and as often as not, improvements in sound can be fairly subjective.

 

[megabigeye]

It’s been a while, but the only times I recall noticing a real difference between the DFR and a more powerful (or simply better) amp was with my higher impedance Beyer DT 1990 and Senn HD 650. With my IEMs and lower impedance headphones I don’t remember ever noticing a difference.